College leaders across the country recognize that students are struggling with severe emotional stress, anxiety, and depression. They also know that the costs of ending formal education at high school can last a lifetime. And they’re doing something about it.

There’s no simple answer to the escalating mental health crisis happening on college campuses today, but this is the perfect time to build on the momentum from some of pioneering work taking place.

With scant advising, many community college students spend time and money on courses that won’t transfer or that they don’t need. Though most learners intend to move on to get bachelor’s degrees, only a small fraction succeed.  

Now, these failures are coming home to roost. Seven newsrooms are joining together to explore the crisis facing community colleges, and ways to solve it, in a series called Saving the College Dream.

Nicole Lynn Lewis is an accomplished author, CEO of Generation Hope, and mother of five. But she didn’t always feel a sense of stability and pride.

When Lewis arrived on campus with her young daughter, she didn’t know where to turn for help. Her feelings of isolation, financial stress, and a lack of community later inspired Lewis to support the mental health journeys of student-parents.